Cap



F. J. WENGEN May 23, 1939.

CAP

Filed Jan.

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented May 23, 1939 PATENT OFFICE a GAP Frank J. Wengen, Milwaukee, Wis, assignor to Eagle Knitting Mills,

Inc., Milwaukee, Wis., a

corporation of Wisconsin Application January 15, 1938, Serial No. 185,130

invention is to provide an improved cap and ear mun assemblage having maximum utility, which is also durable in construction and extremely at- 10 tractive.

. l Many different types of, caps for winter wear have heretofore been marketed, and most of these Y garments are provided with some kind of ear protectors which are capable of being folded either upwardly against the opposite sides of the crown or top of the cap, or downwardly overthe ears. These prior caps are formed of various types of material such as ordinary cloth or knitted fabric, and are frequently provided with decorative pompons, eye shields, and with head encircling rims foldable outwardly and upwardly about the lower edges of the crowns. It has also been common commercial practice to'provide a set of ear muffs pivotally attached to the opposite ends of a resilient U-shaped strip of metal adapted to be disposed about the rear lower portion of the head of the wearer and to clamp the ear muffs snugly against the ears. This pivotal attachment of the muffs to a flexible but relatively stifi supporting strip, not oniy insures firm or snug clamping of the muffs against the opposite sides of the wearer's head at all times, but also permits convenient pivotal adjustment of themuffs to various positions. While the prior caps with ordinary ear protectors have many ad vantages, and the prior ear muff assemblages have additional advantageous features, none of the prior capshave incorporated all, of these adpresent invention, to provide a combined cap and pivotally adjustable ear muff assemblage which not only combines the advantageous features of the above described individual devices, but which also possesses added advantages. l

Another specific object of this invention is the provision; of a cap and ear mull combination wherein the ear muffs are pivotally adjustable about the opposite ends of a resilient support which also serves to retain the rear lower portions of the cap in A further specific object of the invention is to provide a new and useful cap assemblage having. highly attractive pivotally adjustable ear muffs which may be swung to various positions and. are always biased into snug engagement with the head of the wearer.

Still another specific object of my invention is the provision of a durable ear muff and cap assemblage which may be manufactured of attractive knit fabric or cloth and at moderate cost.

.These and other specific objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description.

A clear conception of an embodiment'of the invention, and of the mode of constructing and of utilizing ear muff and cap assemblages manufactured in accordance with the improvement, may

. and forming a part of this specificationwherein like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the various views.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one of my improved ear muff and cap essemblages applied to the head ,of a wearer, and showing the muffs swung upward to the maximum extent;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same assemblage, showing the ear muffs. adjusted to an intermediate be had by referring to the drawing accompanying f position in substantial alinement with the brim Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical section through I the improved cap and ear muflf assemblage, show- .ing the ear muff support distended as when in. use; and v Fig. 5 is, a transverse vertical section through the assemblage with the ear muff support likewise distended.

' While I have shown the invention as being embodied in a tight fitting-cap formed of knitted fabric and provided with a pomponbut no eye shield, it is not the intent to thereby unnecessarily restrict the scope, since the improvement is also applicable to other types of caps formed of other suitable materials.

Referring to the drawing, the cap shown therein comprises a tubular knitted crown or head engaging portion 8 preferably formed of elastic material and'shapedto snugly lit the wearer's head; a rim or band portion 9 formed integral with or attached to the lower edge of the crown I portion 8 and normally being folded outwardly and upwardly over the lower part of the portion .8; and a decorative pompon l0 secured to the uppermost part of the crown portion 8 at the common gathering point of the knitted material. The ear muff assembly comprises a U-shaped resilient metal support or strip 1 I, the opposite ends of which are biased inwardly toward each other; and an ear mufl l2 pivotally attached to each end of the strip I l by means of a transverse pivot pin I 3 coacting with the outer endv of a metallic bifurcated bracket l4, the inner end of which swingably supports the adjacent ear mufi l2. The ear muifs 12 are of similar construction, each muff having an oval wire frame If:

to which a pad I6 is permanently attached, and which is embraced by an attractive covering l'l detachably secured to the frame l5 by means of an elastic retaining'band l8 as clearly shown in opposite ends of the strip' H toproject through slots l9 in the band portion 9 before the m'uffs- I2 are finally attached thereto, see Fig. 4. The

I strip ll may thereafter be permanently confined within this recess by local stitching 29 and by other stitching applied at the slots l9, thus completing the'assemblage.

When the improved assemblage is in normal use, the crown portion'8 is snugly applied to the head of a wearer as illustrated in Figs. .11 2 and 3, and the band portion 9 snugly embraces the wearers head. Theresiliency of the supporting strip II which is confined within the recess at the rear of the crown and band portions 8, 9, causes these portions of the cap to hug the lower rear portion of the wearers head, thus tending toretain the cap in position. The ear muffs H! which are biased toward the wearers head by the resiliency of the strip l I, may then be set in any desired position. As shown in Fig. 1, the ear muffs I 2 have been swung upwardly so as to point toward the pompon l9, and are in snug engagement with thecrown portion 8 and the adjacent band portion 9. As depicted in Fig. 2, the ear muffs l2 have been swung forwardly about the pivots l3 and snugly engage the band portion 9 forwardly of these pivots. As illustrated in Fig. 3, the ear muffs 12 have been swung downwardly over the wearers ears and snugly engage the same. The muffs l2 may also be swung about the pivots I 3 to any other desired position, as

for instance, rearwardly of the pivots l3 and insubstantial alinement with the band 9, and regardless of the position to which the muffs are adjusted, they will always hug the wearers head. It will thus be noted that the improved assemblage has great utility and flexibility, and may be worn to suit the whims of the particular user.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that my invention provides an improved cap and ear mufl assemblage which possesses all y of the advantageous features of the prior caps and ear muff structures alone, and wherein the cap is additionally held in snug engagement with the wearers head by the cooperation of the ear mufi supporting strip I I with the rear portion of the cap. The cap may obviously be formed of any suitable material such as ordinary fabric or tubular knitted material, and the ear muil's may be decorated with the aid of coverings ll of attractive material. The assemblage may obviously be readily manufactured and applied to the head of a wearer, and may if desired be provided with an eye shield applied between the front part of the band portion "9 and of the crown portion 8. The entire assemblage, besides possessing extreme utility and flexibility when inactual use, is also relatively durable in construction and may be manufactured and sold at modswung inwardly into the interior of the cap.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this invention to the exact details of construction or the precise mode of use, herein shown and described, for various modifications within the scope of the claims may occur to persons skilled in the'art.

I-claim:

1. A cap assemblage comprising, a flexible crown formed to snugly engage the top of the wearers head, a rigid resilient support attached to and concealed by the lower edge portion of said crown and having end portions outwardly penetrating the material of said crown, and ear muflfs pivotally suspended from the protrudingends of said'support on opposite sides of said crown edge portion, said muffs bing swingable to various positions of snug engagement with the wearer's head and externally over said crown.

2. A cap assembly comprising, a flexible crown formed to snugly engage the top of the wearer's head, a rigid resilient support concealed within of said crown, a rigid U-shaped resilient support concealed between the rear part of said band and crown soas to avoid contacting the wearers head and having end portions outwardly penetrating the material of said band, and ear mufls pivotally suspended directly from the protruding ends of said support externally of said band, said muffs being swingable about their suspension pivots to various positions of snug engagement with the exterior of said crown.

FRANK J. WENGEN. 

